Your Blackboard Course

Online Course Etiquette

Whether you’ve taken an online course before or are enrolled
in your first one, you’ll soon discover that an online course has a unique
culture and etiquette. Unlike popular social media, such as Facebook or Twitter
that you may already be using in your daily life, online course etiquette more
closely resembles that of a traditional, on-campus course. Here are some
guidelines you can follow to help you be successful in your online course.

Interacting with People, not a Computer

In an online course, you may find fewer opportunities for face-to-face
interaction between you, your instructor, and your classmates. Since most of
your interaction will be text-only, you won’t be able to pick up on “cues” such
as body language, facial and vocal inflection, or the discussion’s changing
pace. This has the potential for people to misunderstand one another’s writing.

Give your writing a respectful “tone,” whether you are
agreeing or disagreeing with another person’s posting. When you read e-mail or
online discussions, make sure you understand the other person’s message. A
confrontational reply to a message you’ve misunderstood can drag a conversation
down for everyone. If you don’t understand, ask the writer for clarification
with language you’d use in the classroom. Think about how you’d react if
someone wrote you the way you’re writing your message. If you think a posting is
inappropriate, you should ask your instructor to look into it.

Read Before You Write

Spoken conversations are a continuous process of talking and
listening. When you walk up to friends in a conversation, you listen awhile to pick
up what’s being talked about before you join in. It’s good etiquette online,
too. Even if it’s a conversation you
contributed to previously, new posts by others may have introduced new
questions and taken the discussion in new directions.

Read Before You Submit

In general, discussion posts and e-mail should be as concise
as possible while still making your message clear. Write a draft and before you
click the submit button, read your message aloud, to yourself or to someone
else. This can help you find awkward phrasing, correct mis-spelling, or maybe see
a clearer way to compose your message.

Avoid language that is humorous, angry, sarcastic, or offensive.
Remember that your readers won’t have those cues mentioned above and could
misunderstand you. If you feel particularly strongly about a point, it may be
best to write your message first as a draft and then review it before posting
in order to remove any strong or ambiguous language.

Words are Forever

Once you submit your message, whether in e-mail or as a post
to a blog or discussion group, it will be stored on servers “out there” for
others to read. You won’t be able to easily take back your words. Even if you
intended it to be private, your message may, in fact, be public. A search
engine might find it. It can be forwarded to people you never wanted to read it,
or copied and posted in a context you didn’t intend. You have no control over
the way others might use it once it is public.

You do, however, have control over what you do – or don’t do
– with other people’s messages. If someone writes you a private e-mail, respect
that privacy.